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Woman To Woman ~ “Learning to Say No”

“Learning to say no”

A lot of women feel like they have to “do it all”, regardless of what may be realistic for them. Do you fall into this category? Can you just not resist the urge to be involved in everything? Or have you learned to say no? Have you taken a step backward and seen positive results? Share your frustrations or share your advice… Tell us what you think about the current trend to be all things to all people.

I think contentment might go hand in hand with this issue of not being able to say no. Are you content right now where you are in your life? Wherever you find yourself today you are called to be content. When you are I think you will better realize what you can do right now and what is not wise for you to do right now.

What stage of life are you in?

What are your responsibilites that go with this stage of life?

What are your gifts?

What is God calling you to do?

Think about these things. Listen to what God is motivating you to do. Respond to those things and say no to things that just don’t fit into your life right now. Of course this just covers all the optional things. There are crisis situations and family situations and the call God puts on our lives to be hospitable and to care for one another that will call you into action regardless of whether you want to say yes or not…

Caring for elderly parents

Caring for sick children or a sick spouse

Helping those in the body who are suffering

When these situations come crashing into your life you need to step back and realize that this might be all you are called to do right now and rest in this. It’s all the optional stuff that we think we need to do that can really tax our time and emotions. Consider leaving some of this stuff behind so you are better equipped for what God is truly calling you to do in your giftedness.

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11 thoughts on “Woman To Woman ~ “Learning to Say No””

Just a word regarding Learning to say No – in our church on Sunday, our children’s pastor had to beg for volunteers to teach Sunday school and help out in the nursery, etc. Apparently people have become “good ” at turning down church work requests. We need to take a look at the quality of what we are saying no to, if we have a choice.
Blessings,
Jeanie

Jeanie, Saying no just to say no is probably as wrong as saying yes to everything. I hope your Sunday School gets staffed soon…

Nicely said. Learning to ask yourself “is this necessary” is such an important skill–in all aspects of life–and learning to simply “rest” where you are called, instead of scrambling for something else is a wonderful idea!

I’m facing the prospect of being a Daisy/Girl Scout leader for my daughter this year. I am dreading the idea….and excited about the adventure of it. (I ended up being a Cub Scout leader for my son because one man with 9 3rd grade boys wasn’t working, and there was no one else to step up. I was surprised to find myself enjoying it, and I still miss “my boys”–all of whom graduated HS this year!)

Excellent post. I agree with the thought that saying no, can be a bad thing. I have gotten too good at saying no, but I also know what things I need to say yes too. I am trying to learn to serve more often to help others. I know my limitations, but if I can figure out how to make someone smile everyday, maybe I can learn to smile more often myself and my burdens will not seem so heavy.

Are you content? I’v never really thought about it that way, but you’re right. When we are content and at peace we are better able to make good choices for our selves and family. When I’m not content and not at peace I seem to scramble around looking for something to make me feel worthy or wothwhile!!! What a wonderful post!!! Thanks for sharing!!!